The conventional harvesting header comprises a frame for mounting on a crop harvesting machine for movement across ground carrying a crop to be harvested, the frame defining a working width of the header, a table mounted on the frame across the width of the header for receiving the crop when cut for transportation along the header, a cutting knife along a front edge of the table for cutting the crop and a reel mounted above the knife and the table for controlling the crop as it moves onto the table. The reel comprises a main elongate support beam and a plurality of bats at angularly spaced positions around the main beam. A pair of support arms carried on the frame and extending forwardly therefrom support the beam at a forward end of the arms.
A reel of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,155 and related U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,809 both of which are assigned to the present assignee. The second of the above patents is particularly directed to the bat angle adjustment system which controls the angle of the bats as they rotate about the main longitudinal axis of the beam so as to maintain an angle of the bats relative to a vertical plane through the bat substantially constant as the bats move through the region adjacent the cutting knife. A further arrangement for adjustment of the reel in the field is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,768,870 also of the present assignee.
It is well known, as shown in the last of these patents that the reel is adjustable so as to vary the height of the reel by pivoting the support arms about their point of connection to the frame. Furthermore the position of the reel along the length of the support arms is adjustable so as to move the reel and particularly the bats forwardly and rearwardly relative to the cutting knife for different crop conditions.
Some headers include hydraulic cylinders provided at the support arms for actuating fore and aft sliding movement of the reel along the arms. However this expense is not always justifiable and hence may purchasers elect to have a header in which the position of the reel is adjusted manually. The reel is mounted on the arms by a slide member which rests over a top surface of the respective arm and can be moved manually fore and aft to effect the necessary adjustment. The top surface of the arm has a plurality of longitudinally spaced holes so that when the adjustment position has been selected, the operator can fasten the slide member to the top surface of the arm by one or more preferably two bolts through bolt holes in the slide member and selected ones of the plurality of holes in the arm.
While this adjustment technique is inexpensive, it requires considerable physical effort and there is no assist available in a situation where binding or jamming is occurring thus yet further increasing the force necessary to effect the movement.